Theatre Review: Torn by Femi Oguns
Two people fall in love. Two black people fall in love and their families are outraged. This is the seemingly improbable premise of the thoughtful new play by playwright/actor Femi Oguns. The problem you see is that David (beautifully played by Oguns) is a Nigerian, his girlfriend (Kelle Bryan) is Jamaican, and that, for both their families is enough to try and split them up. It’s an ongoing issue, this bigotry in our communities. Some roll their eyes at the mere mention of it – haven’t e got over this yet? What Oguns manages to do here is use humour and beautiful writing to force us to cast an eye over ourselves and the prejudices in our communities. There are many laugh out loud moments in this play. True, most are provided by the ever-brilliant performer Jocelyn Jee Esien – Wil Johnson as the Jamaican father puts in a great and often hilarious too. But that we can laugh at ourselves shows a maturity developing in our communities. We are laughing at the ridiculous stereotypes we have heard, maybe even used ourselves. We are laughing because deep down we know just how silly these prejudices really are.
The issue might be an old one but this refreshing playwright has written some great material. Oguns portrays both Nigerian and Jamaican characters at their fully flawed best.
Showing until August 2 at Arcola Theatre. Box office: 020-7503 1645
Alex Wheatle - MBE
There are some writers who arrive on the scene with a huge splash of publicity, a fancy book cover and not much else. Often they are backed up by a publisher with a huge marketing budget and lots of media contacts. They may be feted by the mainstream and get invited to every literary festival around. Though it is not usually Black writers that experience this kind of treatment, it sometimes is. I’ve seen them over the years, but what I have also noticed is that for many of them as quickly as they appear they disappear. Maybe the book sales didn’t match the hype. Maybe they decided the writing game wasn’t for them. Or maybe, just maybe their writing really wasn’t good enough and when it came to demands for another book they couldn’t come up with the goods.
Then there are the writers who just quietly get on with the job of writing. Even when snubbed by publishers they will simply carry on writing and try to find another one. Often such writers are involved in local community work too. They’ll do the rounds of the schools, prisons and libraries. They’ll slog away, plugging their books and any message they want to get across anywhere they can. I think they are the writers I admire the most.
One such writer is South London’s Alex Wheatle. Awarded an MBE as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours, it is an honour long overdue. His latest book, The Dirty South, deals with the hard-hitting issues of youth violence and drug dealing. I managed to get to speak to him recently about his book, his award and why he thinks he has been overlooked for so long.
So were you surprised to get the MBE?
I think shocked is more the word. I just thought ‘Me..an MBE?’ Then I thought again and said ‘yeah why not me?’ It is great recognition.
Why do you think you were chosen for an award?
I don’t even know who makes these decisions but I would guess it is for the things I write about, my community. I write about how I see things have developed in the black community and South London in particular over the last 30 or 40 years.
In terms of such awards it looks like Black literature is finally getting some great recognition.
True. The children’s writer Malorie Blackman and playwright Roy William’s have just been awarded OBE’s, something that should definitely be applauded. I know that Benjamin Zephaniah turned down an OBE very publicly when it was offered to him. But I think really it is a personal choice. I see my MBE as recognition of me and my subject matter.
Long overdue recognition perhaps?
I don’t want to sound bitter but I am often overlooked. In the last ten years of writing I have probably been invited to just two literary festivals.
Why do you think you have been overlooked by the mainstream?
I write about black people. I write about working class people. The literary elite don’t seem impressed with that at all. It wasn’t always that way though, years ago writing about the working class was celebrated – look at Charles Dickens and what he wrote about.
Will you always write about blacks in South London?
I am motivated to tell stories about black people. That is what I have always done. Yes I always seem to return to South London too but that may change in the future. I must say my latest book had been very well received – I have had more positive feedback than any of my other books.
What are you working on next?
For the last year I have been trying to write a teenage fantasy novel. I think we need to see more black people as heroes. If you look at what is out there where are the black heroes? Malorie Blackman is about the only person that has done anything like that.
I am also working on a sit-com – that’s in its early stages. There is interest in turning my novel Island Songs into a TV series too. There are quite a few things on the go. What I do and I have always done is to keep on knocking on doors. That’s the only way to keep yourself out there.
Labels: author, writer
By the Time you read This...Lola Jaye will be published!
When Lola Jaye decided nearly ten years ago that she wanted to be a published author she had no idea of the highs and lows she would experience along the way. She also had no idea that her first novel would cause so much excitement that it is being billed as ‘THE commercial fiction debut of the year.’
By The Time You Read This is the touching and very original story of Lois Bates, who after the death of her father is handed a manual that he wrote for her. At first she can barely bring herself to read it as the pain of her dad's death is still so raw. Yet soon his advice is guiding her through every stage of her life - from jobs to first loves and relationships. It was the originality of the story that first grabbed me, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit to Lola that at stages her writing had managed to move me to tears. ‘You’re not the first person to admit to that.’ she laughs when we meet. ‘But I am glad you enjoyed it too.’
Why did she choose such potentially depressing subject matter? ‘I remember the idea came to me a while back when I was watching TV and there was this story about terminally ill women who had left video tapes for their children for when they knew they weren’t going to be around. It really got to me. Then I started to imagine if it was a man that was about to die. You don’t often hear of men in those situations. Then I started to imagine a story like that set in a time where there were no dvds or ipods; no cds or anything like that. I literally turned off the TV and wrote about 6,000 words that day.’
For this story the words literally poured out her (within 6 months she had finished the first draft) but she knew that finding a publisher wouldn’t be so easy. ‘I had been trying to get published for quite a while and had lots and lots of rejections. I remember particularly trying to find an agent – it wasn’t easy. I remember going to this writers’ event that was a bit like Pop Idol. You went and talked to a panel and there were people coming out in tears after being told they couldn’t write.’ Fortunately for her she had a better experience and was encouraged to send in her work to an agent when she had finished it. It was still a while though before she had the manuscript that was to get her a publishing deal. ‘Eventually my agent said to me why don’t you go away and write a book for you – something that you want to write. It was after she took this advice that
By The Time You Read This took shape. ‘I started to write something just for me and it really worked.’
The days of the book being just for her are long gone now. As we chat Lola talks of publishing dates for America, Germany, Serbia and Korea. Her excitement is palpable. Her conversation is littered with talk of agents that she has met and events she has been too. Her book launch is planned for two days after we meet and it is clearly a big deal for her. ‘I am really nervous I have to admit. Future plans? I can’t really see past the launch at the moment.’
‘All my life I have wanted to be a writer and getting the book published and getting paid for doing something I love, well it kind of validates it all.’ For now Lola is keeping her day job, she currently works for the NHS as a counsellor for people wanting to quit smoking. But with a major promotional campaign just beginning and book number two already written and planned for publication it is clearly the publishing game that will be occupying much of her time in the future.
Book reading events are already planned in local libraries and prisons and she is particularly excited that she has been invited to speak in schools about her journey to being a published author. ‘You’re a role model now.’ I smile as I turn off my tape recorder. ‘Erm don’t you want to know a bit more about my background?’ she asks sounding like a seasoned professional. Aware of space limitations for this piece I nevertheless switch the recorder back on. And Lola fills me in on her early years. Fostered from a young age she spent her formative years living with a white family. She has though spent ‘the odd year or so’ in Nigeria where her mother lives. There’s much more too, but I think that can keep for another day. I have a feeling that the writer Lola Jaye is going to be around for quite a few years to come.
By The Time You Read This is published by Harper Collins and is on sale now.
Visit Lola's blog to find out more about her journey to be published novelist: http://www.lolajaye.com/blog/
Two people fall in love. Two black people fall in love and their families are outraged. This is the seemingly improbable premise of the thoughtful new play by playwright/actor Femi Oguns. The problem you see is that David (beautifully played by Oguns) is a Nigerian, his girlfriend (Kelle Bryan) is Jamaican, and that, for both their families is enough to try and split them up. 
